[Rhapsodia] Help *Spoilers*

[Prophecy]

Ok im not that far in, but im finding ir VERY difficult to get passed the area when you first eneter the Kooluk empire and your on your wayh to the labratory for the first fight but you get stuck and surroounded by those soliders and the large guy i think hes names Martin. Has anyone here have some goooood strategies? or setups for tit, i'e played it over 6 times this battle but i keep getting my guys killed off. And i cant even touch martin. lol i've tried leveling up at the Ruins of Obel but I someitmes lose a good character liek Sigurd, i lost him saved by accident though.............any idears?
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[Hawk Thanatos]

If you're gonna play it safe just keep your party together and on their elements. Just go south first and clear out those enemies and then move back up slowly, not rushing too far ahead so that too many enemies gang up on you at once.

As for what characters to use, it doesn't really matter as long as they are decently leveled compared to the enemies and properly equipped. Some characters I'd recomend are Maxine, who's probably the best magician you'll have till you get Simeon, Gretchen, who's strong and has great defence, a character with a berserker belt equipped and also the Bull's Eye skill, just about anyone works I use Gretchen but characters with good strength already and decent skill work best, Lazlo if you have him and Kika.

[Parallax]

I pretty much won every battle in Suikoden Tactics by abusing excessively the element tile system. In tougher battles, so long as you're not concerned with getting an S-rank, you'll find it a lot easier if you liberally spread favourable colours pretty much everywhere. Surround your characters, especially your more vulnerable ones, with their native element. They could still be in danger if an enemy unit with a matching element runs onto the tile and criticals or something, which could kill your guy just from massive damage, but it also works the other way like that. In general, the AI isn't as smart about elemental tiles as you can be.

So I guess I'm suggesting pretty much what hawkthanatos said...

If you keep your characters together and supporting each other though, you're much more likely to come out on top. Focus fire on serious threats among the enemy units. As long as you don't advance too quickly, you won't get surrounded because some of the enemy units will drop their own native tile and then hang back and stand on it until you approach within a certain range. It may take you a while to win, but you probably won't lose so long as you take things slow.
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He's a victim - not a perp - and I'm choosing to let him go.

[Prophecy]

The thing is with the map is that they have 4 sets of respawns that show up as you kill the rest of them off, and i didn't abuse the monster hunting area prior to this battle.
I've tried leveling up in the Obel ruins but my characters are only gaining around 23 exp, or under 100 and they wont gain levels. I've tried many different combos with the characters even having them circle around one guy while the rest of the lower levels changed tiles and healed the ones circling them. Again didn't work i was still getting less then 50 exp.

Also i cant get to Meserto (spelling?) since as soon as i get over there the battle starts so ic ant get the best armour, or hone my weapons past 3. (they have 4 there).
ANyways sorry to bother ya guys, i'm just getting demolished eveyrtime I start the battle, im waiting for Gameshark to get the codes up, i was gonna at least use the infinite health toi get passed this. My codebreaker is to old to support the codes tey have for it now. Oh well, im just impatient i suppose.
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[Elzamine]

The tiles are your best way to go.. thus to reap the most benefit, only use a couple variations. I'm currently using a water and fire based team. I can set it up really quickly, advance my units in, but not all that far. They sit on their terrain while the opponent attacks. If I move the characters as a complete unit, I'm less apt to have anyone hit. Plus check out the map before you star the battle, and equip beads of the opposite element. If you make it so they have to come to you, then use an opposite element terrain on them, they'll be easier to hit, take more damage from attacks and get nailed by an element sting after each turn.
Just don't rush in, or else you're just asking to be surrounded.

The fact you lost Sigurd sucks too, you won't be able to pick someone up with his range (aka eagle rune) again until later in the game.
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-My DeviantArt-

[Prophecy]

lol yea, it worked thanks guys! Im still pretty ticked about Sigurd, he was prolly one of my favourites from 4, I still have Hervey though....useless oaf.
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[DocFrance]

I don't have any specific tips, but here's a general strategy when it comes to skills. I've found these skills to be absolutely essential in a fight.

Hidden Power - since there's no way to revive fallen characters, and they're gone forever if they die, this skill can save your ass in many occasions.
Bulls Eye - your characters won't be very useful if they can't hit worth crap.
Battle Lust - Great for your damage dealers, the ones with high strength like Hervey and Kika. Despite the description, it actually raises base damage, and the number of swings is only cosmetic.
Extra Move - this gives you a huge deal of flexibility.

You'll also want to have a tank or two - characters with good defensive skills. Millay is my favorite tank because of her Shield Protect skill.

Also, don't neglect support characters. Carrie or Gary can turn the tide of battle in your favor, and Ema is great for laying down any kind of elemental tiles you want, or for helping out with healing.

[Falcon Critical]

Did this battle not too long ago. Its not that hard so long as you are careful - first take out the enemies to your side, if possible get all of your characters over there and well out of the way of Martin's guards.

I forget when the backup spawns but be patient, every wave of backup is aggressive, you can sit back and set yourself up defensively as they run at you from the other side of the map. Don't get in range of the guards around Martin till you have no others alive... as soon as you're in their range he will attack as well.

For defeating his unit - he's not that hard, if you're having trouble make sure you have some people equipped with the Kangacorn rune and zerker belts... if you have to use a story character to lure his attack since they will not permanently die, then lay a Kanga charge or two on him and he should be like a lamb to the slaughter ^_^
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[DocFrance]

If you keep your distance from Martin's group, he'll sit there and do nothing. He won't actually move and attack until you get within a certain distance of him. It's a lot like mobs in an MMORPG. So stay back and finish off the groups around him first. Take the battle step-by-step, in small, manageable chunks.

[Prophecy]

Haha i beat him!Falcon Critical, thanks for that, it worked perfectly., and eveyrone else for their advice, I used eveyrones strategy's too. Now im taking a nice long break from vacations and working double shifts for the next weeks, except for christmas of course :D
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[Falcon Critical]